Method and apparatus for manufacturing metal sheets from ingots



July 29, 1930. R; D. NYE 1,771,688

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING METAL SHEETS FROM INGOTS Filed Jan. 26; 1927 H301 nap.

Patented July 29, 1930 PATENT OFFICE RALPH D. NYE, F COLUMBUS, OHIO METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING METAL SHEETS FROM INGO'IS Application filed January 28, 1927. Serial No. 183,615.

The invention relates to the making of metal sheets and more particularly to the manufacture of sheets direct from ingots.

The ob'ect of the present improvement is to provide or the rolling of light gauge. sheets direct from the ingots, thus eliminating several operations between the ingot and the finished sheet.

An embodiment of the invention is illusm trated in the accompanying drawing, in

which The figure is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus by which the invention may be accomplishe I Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

A roller table is indicated at l, the charging end 2 thereof being located adjacent to a soaking pit 3 in which ingots, indicated at 4, 2o ma be heated in the usual manner.

he other end of the roller table communicates with a reversing universal mill 5 which may be driven by a motor 6 through gears 7.

A roller table 8 extends from the op osite side of the universal mill to a series 0 continuous plate mills 9, each of which may be driven asby a motor 10 through the usual gearing 11.

A transfer 12 is located at a point between the universal mill and the plate mills and extends away from the roller table 8 at a ri ht angle thereto, communicating at its 0t er end with a roller table 13.

A shear 14 is located intermediate the ends 5 of the roller table 13 and may be driven as by the motor 15. A transfer 16 forms communication between the end of the table 13 and a similar table 17 which leads to the entrance end of a'furnace 18 which may be of the muflle type or other suitable construction to provide a non-oxidizing atmosphere. The discharge end of this furnace is located adjacent to the roller table 1.

Located beyond the continuous plate mills and extending to a shear 19, is a roller table 20. This shear may be operated as by the motor 21 and a chain conveyer 22 is located beyond the shear and extends to a sheet piler 23, or coiling machine 23.

Another shear 24, which may be driven as by the motor 25, is located between the sheet piler and the furnaces 26 for maintaining the sheets at rollingtemperature and ad'acent to said furnaces is located a series 0 twohigh sheet mills indicated at 27, which may be driven as by the motor 28. A sheet shear 29 may be located adjacent to the sheet mills.

In carrying out the improved method, an ingot 4 is removed from the soaking pit and placed upon the roller table 1, upon which it is conveyed to the universal mill. The ingot is passed back and forward through this mill until it is reduced to a slab approximately three inches thick.

This slab while hot is then transferred to the shear 14 where it is cropped and cut into suitable lengths and immediately transferred to the furnace 18. This furnace may be of the mufiie type or other suitable construction to prevent scaling.

By means of the pusher 30, these slabs are passed through the furnace 18 and passed one at a time onto the roller table 1, and then passed again through the universal mill where each slab is rolled down to a plate ap- I proximately one-half inch thick.

Each plate is then passed from the uni versal mill, along the roller table 8 and through the continuous plate mills 9, which may be arranged in tandem as shown and so 83 driven that the plate is passed continuously through the mills and rolled down to a proximately one-tenth of an inch in thick ness.

The plate emerges from the mills 9 in along 85 thin strip, which may be twent to fortyeight inches in width or wider as esired, and is passed over the roller table 20 to the shear 19, where it is cut to any desirable lengths, and then transferred to the strip piler 23, or coiled at 23*.

These strips may then be taken to the shear 24 and cut to the desired lengths which are placed in the furnaces 26 for maintaining them at rolling temperature after having received whatevertreatment may be desired, such as pickling and cleaning required for the manufacture of special sheets.

It should be understood that the two shears 19 and 24 are desirable in such an apparatus, since the rolling mills are operating too rapidly to permit cutting of the strips to the lengths required for rolling sheets, in the shear 19, this shear only being used to cut the strip into lengths of about thirty feet,

. in order to accommodate the rapid travel of the strip through the rolling mills.

These thirty foot lengths are then taken to the shear 24 Where they are cut into the required lengths for rolling sheets in the twohigh mills 27. It will be seen that the cutting of the strip upon the shear 24: will not interfere with the rapid operation of the rolling mills 9.

After being heated in these furnaces, the material is fed into the standard two-high pull-over sheet mills 27 where it is rolled and manipulated in accordance With standard sheet mill practice to produce sheets in any desired gauge. The rolled sheets may then be sheared in the usual manner upon the shear 29.

From the above it will be seen that the improved method provides lor handling of the steel direct from the ingot into the black sheet in a manner best adapted to present day steel plants which have their own open hearth or other steel making equipment.

I claim:

1. The method of rolling sheets from ingots which consists in passin the ingot through a universal mill and re ucing it to a slab, shearing the slab into suitable lengths, passing each length through a furnace and rolling it again in the same universal mill where it is reduced to a plate, passing the plate through a series of continuous plate mills, shearin the stri s into suitable lengths for rolling sheets, p acing the sheared strips in a furnace for maintaining them at rolling temperature and. passing them through a two-high, pull-over sheet mill.

2. The method of rolling sheets from ingots which consists in passing tire ingot through a universal mill and reducing it to a slab, shearing the slab while hot into suitable lengths, passing each length through a furnace and rolling it again in the universal mill Where it is reduced to a plate, passing the plate while hot through a series of continuous plat-e mills, shearing the strip into suitable lengths for rolling sheets, placing the sheared strips in a furnace for maintaining them at rolling temperature and passing them through a two-high, pull-over sheet mill.

The method of rolling sheets from ingets which consists in passing the ingot through. a universal mill and reducing it to a slab approximately three inches thick, shearing the slab into suitable lengths, passing each length through a furnace and rolling it again in the universal mill Where it is reduced to a plate approximately one-half inch thick, passing the plate while hot through a series of continuous plate mills, shearing the strip into suitable lengths for rolling sheets, placing the sheared strips in a furnace for maintaining them at rolling temperature and passinglthemthrough a two-high, pul1-over sheet m1.

4. The method of rolling sheets from ingots Which' consists in passin through a universal mill and re ucing it to a slab approximately three inches thick, shearing the slab into suitable lengths, passing each length through a furnace and rolling it again in the universal mill Where it is reduced to a plate approximately one-half inch thick, passing the plate while hot through a series of continuous plate mills, Where it is reduced to approximately one-tenth of an inch in thickness, shearing the strip into suitable lengths for rolling sheets, placing the sheared strips in a furnace for maintaining them at rolling temperature and passing theirln through a two-high, pull-over sheet mi 5. Apparatus for rolling sheets from ingots including a universal mill, a slab shear beyond said mill, a furnace beyond the slab shear, means for passing an ingot through the mill,'through the shear, through the furnace and again through the mill to form plates, continuous rolling mills adapted to receive said. plates and roll them into strips, shears for cutting said strips into lengths suitable for rolling sheets, a furnace for maintaining a rolling temperature of said sheared lengths and two-high, pull-over mills for rolling said heated lengths into sheets.

In testimony that I claim the above, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

RALPH D. NYE.

the ingot 

